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According to Solano and his team, the skier attempted to enter France in mid-January en route to Sweden for a training camp before the world championships.

But his bid to acclimatise to the European snow hit a snag when border police did not believe his story, he said, leading to his eventual deportation.

He said that cost him a “month of practice on the snow” — something that was clearly evident.

“When I got to Paris on 19 January, I explained that I was on my way to Sweden to train. They did not believe that I ski in Venezuela,” he told Agence-France Presse.

“I told them that we train on wheels. I only had 28 euros with me and the police accused me of trying to immigrate because things were going badly in my country.

“They discriminated against me because of my dress, my face or appearance.”

Solano’s coach, Cesar Baena, said police laughed at him and added: “They said skiing didn’t exist in Venezuela.”

The issue has infuriated Venezuelans, with even senior government officials speaking up on the matter.

The nation’s foreign minister, Mr Delcy Rodriguez, posted on Twitter: “Following instructions by @PresidentMaduro we will deliver a strong protest to the French government for the affront against the Venezuelan athlete.”

In a further tweet, he said that “the insult against Venezuelans is absolutely unacceptable.”

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